AJanuary 03 1952
The Guardian, London, Greater London, England, Thursday, January 03, 1952
Geller vs. Keres
Included in the scores of the recent U.S.S.R. championships were:
Keres 12 points;
2. Geller and Petrosian 11½-4;
4. Smyslov 11½;
5. Botvinnik 10;
6. Averbach, Bronstein and Tajmanov 9;
9. Aronin and Flohr.
The result strongly supports the doubts which were expressed recently in this column, whether tournaments and their vagaries really provide the best method of producing a candidate for a world championship match. Had this contest been the “candidates tournament.” normally an even stronger contest both the actual world champion, Botvinnik, and Bronstein, the runner-up, still in our opinion the strongest players, would have been out of the running.
June 08 1952
The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California, Sunday, June 08, 1952
And here a game from the recent Russian Championship
Tigran V Petrosian vs Nikolai Kopilov
USSR Championship (1951), Moscow URS, rd 1, Nov-11
Nimzo-Indian Defense: St. Petersburg Variation (E43) 0-1
(a) H. Golombek in the British Chess Magazine says, “If ever a position merited the description ‘critical’ this one does. The text allows Black to instil fresh vigor into his attack. With the simple, if restrained, 17. PxP! he destroys all chances of any attack by Black. For if then (a) 17. … BxQP; 18. BxPch KxB; 19. QxB N-B3; 20. RxB R-KB1; 21. Q-K4ch and wins. Or (b) 17. … B-Q3; 18. R-K4, winning the N; or (c) 17. … NxBP; 18. KxN B-R5ch; 19. K-N2 Q-N5ch; 20. K-R1 BxR; 21. Q-K2, followed by RxB.
August 07 1952
Meie Kodu = Our Home, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Thursday, August 7, 1952
CHESS
From “The News”, London Express Service
Hungary has honoured the memory of her great chess master Geza Maroczy by organising one of the strongest tournaments of recent times.
The Soviet Union sent five players who finished in the first five places in the recent Soviet championship and as expected they proved a little too strong for the rest of the field.
The scores tell some of the story:
Keres (USSR) 12½;
Geller (USSR) 12;
Botwinnik (USSR), Smyslov (USSR) and Stahlberg (Sweden), each 11;
Szabo (Hungary) 10½;
Petrosian (USSR) and Pilnik (Argentina), each 9½;
O'Kelly (Belgium) 9;
Benko (Hungary) 8½;
Barcza (Hungary) and Szily (Hungary), each 8;
Golombek (GB) and Kottnauer (Czechoslovakia), each 7;
Gereben (Hungary), 6;
Trojanescu (Rumania) 5½;
Sliwa (Poland) 5;
Platz (E. Germany) 2.
Noteworthy are the great successes of Keres and Geller the comparative failure of the champion Botwinnik and the high place of Stahlberg who was unlucky not to have done even better.
September 25 1952
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, Thursday, September 25, 1952
Russians Set Pace in Zonal Chess
By Hermann Helms
Of the 21 players striving for places' in next year's world championship tournament five, including three Russians are setting the pace in the current zonal competition in Sweden, where six rounds were completed last night.
Seemingly head and shoulders above the rest is Alexander Kotov at Moscow who led the Russian team to victory at Helsinki last month. He has defeated all five of his opponents. He had a bye in the third round. Gideon Stahlberg of Sweden has won three games and drawn three for a score of 4½-1½. Next in the standing are Laszlo Szabo, Hungary, with 4-1, T. Petrosian, Russia, with 4-2 and Geller youngest of the Russian grandmasters, fifth with 3½-1½.
September 28 1952
The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, Sunday, September 28, 1952
Russians Lead in Sweden
New York Times
New York, Sept. 27—Four of the five Russians competing in the world chess championship tournament at Saltsjöbaden in Sweden give promise of qualifying for places in the challengers competition to be held next year. According to a report from Stockholm today, when six adjourned games were played off, two of these Soviet representatives were among the winners.
T. Petrosian advanced to third place after defeating R. G. Wade of New Zealand in their eighth-round game lasting 57 moves. M. Taimanov scored at the expanse of L. Prins. The Netherlands, in 48 and tied for fourth place with E. Geller, Russia, and L. Szabo of Hungary. Alexander Kotov, Russia, with 7-0, and Gideon Stahlberg of Sweden, 6-2, continued at the top of the standing.
Prins lost a second point when he miscalculated in the ending with Herman Steiner of Los Angeles, who had gained a pawn during the earlier session. The Californian won in 56 moves.
Steiner had a bye in the fifth round, had drawn with Paul Vaitonis of Hamilton, Ont., in the sixth and lost an adjourned game to Svetozar Gligoric of Yugoslavia in the seventh round.
Standing of the players:
Kotov, 7-0; Stahlberg, 6-2; Petrosian, 5½-2½; Geller, 5-2; Szabo, 5-3; Taimanov, 5-2; Barcza, 4½-2½; Pachman, 4½-3½; Averbach, 4-4; Gligoric, 4-4; Matanovic, 4-4; Pilnik 4-4; Sanchez, 3½-4½; Stoltz, 3-4; Unzicker, 3-5; Wade, 3-5; Eliskases, 2½-4½; Steiner, 2½-4½; Golombek, 2-6; Prins, 1-7, and Vaitonis, 1-7.
October 02 1952
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, Thursday, October 02, 1952
Russians Fare Well in Zonal Chess Tourney
By Hermann Helms
After two weeks of play in 10 rounds of the world chess zonal tournament in Sweden, four of the 21 contenders remain undefeated. Three of this quartet are Russians, of whom Alexander Kotov, who captained the champion Soviet team at Helsinki, is well in the lead, 8½-½. The other two are T. Petrosian, tied at 7-2 with G. Stahlberg of Sweden and S. Taimanov, whose score of 6½-2½ is level with that of E. Geller of Russia. Geller, however, lost a game in the third round.
With the halfway mark reached, it seems that four of the Russians will qualify for places in next year's challengers tournament. Herman Steiner of Los Angeles has found hard sledding. He has won three games and drawn one to date.
The Guardian, London, Greater London, England, Thursday, October 02, 1952
World's Championship
The final zonal tournament in the world's chess championship is being played at Stockholm. The scores so far are:
Kotov 5 (out of 5),
Szabo 4½ (5),
Stahlberg 4½ (6),
Petrosian 4 (6),
Geller 3½ (5),
Barcza,
Pachman, and
Pilnik 3½ (6),
Taimanov 3 (5),
Averbach,
Wade,
Matanovic,
Sanchez, and
Unzicker 3 (6),
Gligoric 2½ (6),
Stoltz 2 (6),
H. Steiner 1½ (5).
Golombek l½ (6),
Eliskases 1 (5).
Vaitonis and
Prins 1 (6)
October 04 1952
The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Saturday, October 04, 1952
World Championship Interzonal
Current scores of all the competitors at Saltsjobaden, Sweden, are:
Kotov (USSR) 7-0;
Stahlberg (Sweden) 6-2;
Petrosian (USSR) 5½-2½;
Geller (USSR), Szabo (Hungary) and Taimanov (USSR) 5-2 each;
Barcza (Hungary) and Pachman (Czech.) 4½-2½ each;
Gligoric (Yugoslavia), Matanovic (Yugoslavia), Pilnik (Argentina) and Auerbach (USSR), 4-4 each;
Sanchez (Venezuela) 3½-4½;
Stoltz (Sweden) 3-4;
Wade (New Zealand) and Unzicker (W. Germany) 3-5 each;
Eliskases (Argentina) and H. Steiner (USA) each;
Golombek (England) 2-6;
Vaitonis (Canada) and Prins (Holland) 1-7 each,
Julio Bolbochan, Argentina retired after the second round, due to illness.
October 11 1952
The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Saturday, October 11, 1952
World Championship Interzonal
Alexander Kotov, USSR grandmaster, continues to hold the lead at Saltsjobaden with a score of 10-1. Other top scores are:
Stahlberg, 8½-3½;
Petrosian, 8-4;
Taimanov, 7½-3½;
Szabo, 7-4;
Gligoric, 6½-4½;
Pachman, 6-6;
Auerbach,
Unzicker and
Barcza, 5½-5½ each.
Canada's Paul Vaitonis broke into the scoring column with a win over Luis Sanchez, of Colombia, in 58 moves, and draws against Taimanov, Leningrad champion, in 52 moves, and H. Steiner, former USA champion, in 56 moves. He lost to Stoltz, after an adjournment, to Gligoric in 39, to Eliskases in 33, and to Prins in 62, after a close N and P ending.
October 23 1952
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Brooklyn, New York, Thursday, October 23, 1952
Reshevsky to Meet At Least 10 Russians In Challengers' Play
By Hermann Helms
In consequence of the latest triumph in the clean sweep in the zonal tournament at Saltsjobaden, where Russians occupied all five of the top places, Samuel Reshevsky of Brooklyn will be called upon to face at least 10 Soviet opponents in next year's challengers contest, into which he was seeded by the International Chess Federation. Kotov, Petrosian and Taimanov, all undefeated in 20 games, and Geller and Auerbach qualified at Stockholm for promotion to the 1953 test.
Other Soviet representatives are expected to be Keres, Smyslov, Bronstein, Boleslavsky and Bondarevsky, who qualified two years ago. In the same boat with Reshevsky are Dr. Max Euwe of Amsterdam and Miguel Najdorf of Argentina. It was reported that Dr. Euwe would refrain from taking part, but this was contradicted in later reports from Saltsjobaden.
The Russians were most formidable at Saltsjobaden. They lost only three games, two by Geller and one by Auerbach. Among themselves they contested 20 games, all of which were drawn. Auerbach barely pulled through, thanks to his figures rated by the Sonneborn-Berger system. He finished in a tie for fifth place with Gligoric, Stahlberg and Szabo.
Herman Steiner, who moved from Astoria to Los Angeles several years ago, made a score of 10-10. The former United States champion drew with Kotov, Petrosian and Geller, but lost to Taimanov and Auerbach.
The women's world championship challengers tournament is now under way in Moscow. Ten countries are represented by 16 players, including Mrs. Mary Bain and Miss Mona May Karff. Mrs. Bain won her first game from Mrs. Belska of Czechoslovakia.
The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Saturday, October 25, 1952
World Championship Interzonal
Alexander Kotov, USSR, won the Interzonal at Saltsjobaden, Sweden, by a wide margin, going through undefeated. Four of his seven draws went to his fellow-countrymen who qualified with him for entry into next year's Candidates tourney. Auerbach's tie was broken by the Sonneborn-Berger system.
Canada's Paul Vaitonis added draws with R. G. Wade, H. Pilnik and H. Golombek in the closing rounds.
